Showtime’s ‘Twin Peaks’ Revival Expanded to 18 Episodes?

Twin Peaks fans breathed a collective sigh of relief at news that Showtime had re-secured creator David Lynch for the 2016 revival, potentially even expanding the nine-episode order. Now, returning cast members claim that Showtime’s Twin Peaks return has grown to a whopping 18 episodes, and recreated one of its most famous locales to do it.

Take this one with a grain of salt in your coffee for now, but during a Twin Peaks panel appearance at Seattle’s Crypticon, series stars Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee claimed that Lynch would return to direct all 18 episodes of the revival, twice what Showtime had originally ordered. Additionally, both stars corroborated that composer Angelo Badalamenti would write brand new music for the series, while North Bend, Washington’s famous Twede’s Cafe, would be restored to the Twin Peaks Double R Diner look.

It’s certainly plausible, though a doubled episode order seems especially unusual of any series, let alone under Showtime’s usual 12-episode model, also calling into question why Lynch would have agreed to the initial nine-episode order in the first place. Not only that, but TVLine also made note of Showtime’s statement reading “more than the originally announced nine hours,” as opposed to “nine episodes,” having heard that only the premiere and finale of Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival would end up expanded.

The original Twin Peaks saw Agent Dale Cooper (returning Kyle MacLachlan) arriving in the titular town to investigate the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, only to find the mystery ran far deeper than he could ever expect, with a touch of the supernatural. Thus far, only MacLachlan has been confirmed to return, though Sheryl Lee, Dana Ashbrook and Sherilyn Fenn had at least been approached.

We imagine it won’t be long before Showtime or David Lynch step forward to confirm either episode order, but could the Twin Peaks revival really have doubled? Would an expanded order allow more breathing room for Lynch’s vision, or end up lagging?